POLL: How do you rate Paul McCartney's "Chaos & Creation in the Backyard" album?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mrjinks, Apr 14, 2015.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. OobuJoobu

    OobuJoobu Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, UK
    I really hope the truth comes out one day of who that song is about (I have my theory), one of his most intriguing lyrics ever!
     
  2. Bewaremylove

    Bewaremylove Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    I was always under the impression that is was about Heather. It's possible that it could be about someone else though.
     
  3. OobuJoobu

    OobuJoobu Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yorkshire, UK
    I've always assumed (maybe wrongly) that the lyric covers a 2 way conversation between Paul and Geoff Baker, with half the lyric being what Paul was saying to (or thinking about) Geoff, and the other half being what Geoff said to (or thought about) Paul.

    I might be completely wide of the mark, but that's how it's always sounded to me! :)
     
    Bewaremylove likes this.
  4. jeatleboe

    jeatleboe Forum Resident

    Location:
    NY
    I think it's essential. What I like about it is, Paul comes off as more deep and vulnerable on many of the tracks. In some ways I might even consider it the one album where Paul comes nearest to the emotion of John Lennon's POB album. It feels a bit uncharacteristically gloomy (refreshingly so) to me in context of Paul's other work, where Paul gets more deep -- and I think that's partly because Paul was guided by Nigel Godrich, who wasn't afraid to be honest with McCartney.

    Those who think Paul no longer makes good albums really needs to think again. He's been on an upswing with CHAOS, MEMORY ALMOST FULL, and NEW. (I'm not as wild about ELECTRIC ARGUMENTS as others, but I do appreciate Paul going in that offbeat direction).
     
    Last edited: Jul 10, 2015
  5. Djmover

    Djmover Forum Resident

    Totally essential Paul album ,perhaps his best Wings/Solo album.
    One of my fav nights with my fellow Beatles/Paul fans is all sitting round and listening to it together for the 1st time . The best part for me was after it was finished looking everyone's faces for reactions at what we had just heard.
    Just an absolute brilliant album perfectly executed leaves Tug of War for dust,and it is more consistent than Flaming Pie which is burdened by the Steve Miller rubbish Used to Be Bad and the Ringo co write Really Love You which is just appalling .
     
    Beatles Floyd and gswan like this.
  6. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    I had the exact same experience with the Driving Rain album. You should have seen the reactions of the people in the room with me: convulsions, twitchings, vomiting, and other involuntary seizures. What a time it was ... ;)
     
  7. theMess

    theMess Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kent, UK
    I still can't eat on the anniversary of its release. :laugh:
     
    905, ralph7109, She is anyway and 3 others like this.
  8. Djmover

    Djmover Forum Resident

    Yeah wasn't a big fan of Driving Rain either but it was a weird time Heather Mills ,new producer ,band and studio.
    Think it would have been better if more time was spent on it and a few songs IE the 2 James co writes and Riding to Jaipur were axed .
    Anyway it's like we had to have Press to get Flowers in the Dirt . I look at Driving Rain the same way as Press in that it made Paul do a serious sit down and think about the follow up.
     
  9. Arnold Grove

    Arnold Grove Senior Member

    Location:
    NYC
    Interesting hypothesis. It could very well have been the case.

    But you never know with these things. We, here, sometimes assign deep motivations and conscious decisions to these types of things. BUT for Paul, it might have been just another bunch of recordings that were not different than any others.
     
    She is anyway and theMess like this.
  10. I like a couple of songs but rate it a weak album. His once powerful gift for hooks has deserted him along with his great singing voice. Listening to Chaos is a chore I no longer engage in.
     
    Drifter, Moonbeam Skies and Frank like this.
  11. Djmover

    Djmover Forum Resident

    Yes your right we never really know and Paul would never confirm it either .
    But i think in the Press/Flowers period the failure of Press made Paul do a fare bit of soul searching .
    The rumoured tour in support of Press never happened ,Paul brought in a new manager in Richard Ogden who was determined to get him back out on the road but not until he had a strong album to promote . Then we had sessions with Billy Joel's band ,the aborted Phil Ramone sessions ,All the Best ,the Russian album sessions, writing songs with Elvis Costello and then working with different producers to make Flowers in the dirt something he had never done before .
    So to me that all adds up to a serious re think and a determination to not settle on just good enough .Paul needed to come back with some great singles and a solid album and with Flowers in the Dirt he did.
     
    Beatles Floyd and gswan like this.
  12. Bewaremylove

    Bewaremylove Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York City
    That's a great take on it, and you may be right. I never even thought of that.
     
  13. Rob Hughes

    Rob Hughes Forum Resident

    Just listened to this today for the first time in a couple years. What a great and consistent album this is! Very great. I always think of this album as among my top McCartney picks (maybe: number two after Ram?), but there's nothing like actually listening to the thing to have its genius take one by surprise. Probably I like it better than all but a small handful of Beatle albums.

    The thing that struck me this time was the major-minor inversions that feature so centrally in so many tracks. Quite striking. And a little destabilizing: is this a major song or a minor song? Usually minor! But not only! Is this a happy song or an unhappy song? Usually unhappy! But not only! It's like one of the themes of the album, musically and probably lyrically (taken as a whole album) is the confusing co-existence of major and minor, happiness and unhappiness, love and its opposite. That unusual combination - not unusual in actual life, I think, but unusual in how we usually think about life - maybe pushed Paul to stranger and more exploratory musical developments on this album: the major-minor inversions, but also the suspended resolutions that are so common on this album. Cheers, RH
     
  14. 905

    905 Senior Member

    Location:
    Midwest USA
    I think Press to Play is the finest Paul album recorded in the '80s. And Driving Rain the best album since Flaming Pie.
    Guess those are odd opinions here :)
     
    Beatles Floyd likes this.
  15. Perian

    Perian Forum Resident

    Location:
    Oslo
    I can't believe this album is a decade old in just a few weeks! Chaos & Creation is definitely in my top 3 of Paul's solo albums. My favourite songs are Riding To Vanity Fair, Jenny Wren, Too Much Rain and Friends To Go. Love the B-sides as well.
     
  16. DLant

    DLant The Upstate Gort Staff

    Location:
    Albany, NY
    I really would love to see the Archive collection get to this album and Flaming Pie. Two of my later-Macca favorites.
     
    theMess and Perian like this.
  17. Drifter

    Drifter AAD survivor

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC, CA
    What a bunch of weirdos in that room.
     
  18. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    First option.
     
  19. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Give this a spin, first time in years.
    Great production! Songs a wee bit too maudlin.
    Choice cuts: This Never happened Before, Friends To Go,Comfort Of Love,Growing Up Falling Down.
     
  20. Digital-G

    Digital-G Senior Member

    Location:
    Dayton, OH
    I went with "A Pretty solid effort..." but it actually took me a while to get there. Had the poll choices been worded differently I might have went for the choice right in the middle.

    I haven't quite drank the Chaos and Creation kool-aid yet. It's a good album, but in my world all of his later period albums (since Flaming Pie) are good to great. To me Memory Almost Full and New (as well as Flaming Pie) are miles ahead of Chaos. Part of the problem is all of the mid-tempo songs - this album is full of them. And while there are melodies here (Too Much Rain and Anyway in particular) I don't think these are his strongest album of melodies. Even the opening song, Fine Line, is kind of meh to me. The Songs We Were Singing, Save Us, Dance Tonight and even Lonely Road speak to me much more.

    But here is the kicker. It took me a while to realize it but I simply don't hear much 'joy' on this album. It sounds like a dark period, and maybe some people like that aspect. Flaming Pie, Memory Almost Full and New, exude joy, like many McCartney albums do. Even the much loathed Driving Rain has quite a few moments of joy buried in it. Chaos, not so much.

    I do like it and it is a solid album, but there are reasons I like the other albums more. Just my opinion.
     
  21. Rojo

    Rojo Forum Resident

    Great record. It's a pity his voice sounds a little old in some tracks -- particularly "Fine Line" and "Promise to you girl".
     
  22. alexpop

    alexpop Power pop + other bad habits....

    Top 3 Tier 2015 ( october).
    RAM
    MAF ( no, not having laf ..)
    NEW ( WHO knew)
     
  23. Jerrvonkramer

    Jerrvonkramer Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Uk
    COMPLETELY knocked out by this, this morning. I think it might be better than Ram.
     
  24. Greg Smith

    Greg Smith Forum Resident

    Brilliant, classic McCartney writing up there with Ram, McCartney, Band on the Run, McCartney 2 (really) plus Rushes and Electric Arguments as his greatest solo works. It feels real and it's lyrically great in places. Too Much Rain Jenny Wren, This Never Happened Before and Vanity Fair are among his greatest songs ever.

    Maybe it's less adventurous then some of the record's featured above that it ranks as Paul's has not bettered this since....
     
    Joti Cover likes this.
  25. Jerrvonkramer

    Jerrvonkramer Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Uk
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine